FAQs

What will the DIAA do for me?

The DIAA is an industry forum allowing members to discuss any matters that could impact the recreational diving industry in Australia, from government regulations and changes to workplace laws to promotional opportunities and local initiatives.

As a member you will be able to benefit from raising your own areas of concern to benefiting from the exchange of ideas of other dive industry professionals. The DIAA will also be a focal point for general media or regulatory queries and will be able to call upon members to participate or respond as appropriate.

Will the DIAA be involved with Standards Australia and State WorkPlace/WorkCover or Federal WorkSafe Committees?

The DIAA has representatives on some of these groups. Individual members of the DIAA will maintain their own involvement where relevant and will be able to pass back to the DIAA developments within these committees. Members will then be able to discuss these and, where agreed, offer a joint position.

Will the DIAA look to running Dive Shows and Advertising Campaigns?

No! The DIAA is not looking to run Dive Shows or Advertising in its own right. It will facilitate members working together in these areas and may offer support of these initiatives when agreed to by members. It is up to the individual businesses within the DIAA to decide how best to invest their own marketing and promotional activities, though the DIAA will be a suitable forum within which members can group together in such joint ventures.

Why do we need the DIAA?

Simply put, to allow those within the Recreational Dive Industry the opportunity to get together to discuss matters that directly affect us all!

Some members may also look to the DIAA for a supporting voice, especially when dealing with the general media. The DIAA will be able to direct these queries to those members best suited to assist and in such a manner can help show the dive industry as a professional body with national involvement.

What Does it Cost to Treat a Diver in the Asia-Pacific Region?

The costs associated with treating a sick or injured diver vary greatly based on several variables, such as the location of the incident, proximity to the nearest appropriate chamber, proximity to a suitable medical treatment facility for the injury/illness, whether evacuation is required.

If an aircraft needs to fly in from another location with a medical team on board then naturally the associated costs will be significantly higher than if the diver needs to be driven to a local chamber. In addition to this is the cost of treatment that is required in a chamber and/or hospital for the accident/illness. This can vary from $1,000 – $20,000 or more depending on where this treatment is and how much treatment is required. Suffice to say that the costs involved in evacuating and/or treating a diver can be significant.

The reality is that it can cost as much as US$100,000 for the evacuation alone! This is why it is so important that divers have DAN protection. And the fact that DAN are the experts in diver accident management means the diver will receive the most effective response in co-ordinating their treatment/evacuation.

Example: DAN was involved in the evacuation of a paralysed diver from the Solomon Islands to Australia. The evacuation cost alone was around AUD$90,000 (as an aircraft had to be sourced from far away). In addition, the treatment costs were in excess of US$30,000.

All divers should have good dive injury coverage such as that offered by DAN.
Go to www.danasiapacific.org for more information

Absolutely, the DIAA feels the concept of sinking large vessels with historical significance to form artificial reefs and create a viable new dive sites for the industry is sound.
All around the world ships are being carefully stripped of any hazardous chemicals and materials, and are sunk in specifically chosen sites. These sites are generally in areas which are desolate in terms of marine life. It has been scientifically proven artificial reefs help promote and build fish stocks (good for fishermen) and make fabulous dive sites (good for tourism and diving industry as a whole).